Many aeons ago, I was having a beer or three with Andy Watts, the creator and lead writer of the CITV sitcom My Parents Are Aliens.

It was a show I'd worked on for a couple of years at that point, and very much loved writing for - I ended up being responsible for 14 episodes overall, second only to Andy himself... devouring every commission they'd toss my way.

At the time, I was also developing my own kids show, one which, as usually happens, never got made.

I think I'd already had a few close calls by that point - projects which nearly got green-lit - and was already feeling pessimistic about the chances of this new one. Coupled to that, I'd had some other strange experiences - namely, having some un-produced work shamelessly pilfered by certain individuals - which made me feel cynical about the TV industry as a whole.

It was while telling Andy all this that he gave me one of the best pieces of advice I have ever received: enjoy the "What if".

WHAT IS 'WHAT IF'?At that point, my show was in active development, people liked it, and it hadn't yet hit the stumbling blocks which eventually resulted in it not being commissioned (namely, ITV closing its children's department, and cancelling all investment in kids TV).

Andy's suggestion was to enjoy the possibility that my show would happen, telling me to revel in it, because at that moment in time there was every chance it might.

Admittedly, that was easier said than done - it's like when someone tells you to not feel the thing you feel, as if your emotional response is somehow "wrong" or defective. It's always horrible advice, usually given to shut you up just so they don't have to listen to you trying to process it.

But on this occasion, some of the advice went in: ever since that night, I have strived not to be too cynical about any show I'm developing, and to stay in the moment when it is working. Otherwise, if you're always focused on an expected negative outcome, it threatens to consume you. It's no way to live.

Which brings me nicely to No Man's Sky: a game that, at this moment, few of us have played. All we have to go on is the hype, the trailers, our own expectations, and the endless possibilities.

ZEALOTRYI've tried hard not to buy into the No Man's Sky hype wholesale, like some have.

You know: those people who started sending death threats when Kotaku reported that the game was going to be delayed by two weeks or so.

That feels like it transcends enjoying the "What if", to full-on zealotry. Over a game they had yet to play no less. Mental, much?

I've tried to listen to my own reservations that No Man's Sky might be a giant universe in search of a game. I'm concerned that it might be a little bit too Elite for my tastes, that the trading will detract from what I want it to be. That I'll be forced into busy-work, collecting resources, when all I want to do is explore. I'm worried about the massive day one patch that I'll have to install before I get to play it. I'm worried it'll bore me.

You see - in my eyes - they've failed to really convey what the game is (even one of the developers came out and said it's different to how it's portrayed in the trailers), it means there's a version of it which exists in my head which is unique to me. All our imaginations have spent the past year or so making the version of No Man's Sky that we all want. And that's potentially dangerous, and can only really result in a backlash... unless we can acknowledge it for what it is.

It's hard though, trying to cushion any potential disappointment. The hype, the excitement, still it cuts through. I mean, I'm excited because I'm excited; I can't remember the last time a brand new game - which isn't a sequel - had so much anticipation. It takes me back to the days when certain big releases were an event, when we all bought into that hype, without cynicism or reservation.

CAN'T IGNOREAnd because of that, because we can't ignore the hype entirely, can't ignore our own excitement, or the game we've spent the past year or so playing in our heads, because we're going to be disappointed whatever happens... we might as well just accept it.

Maybe we should enjoy these last few moments of the What If - before we get to play No Man's Sky for real, while we're waiting for the postman to arrive, or for Game to open, or for that massive day one patch to install.

Right now, No Man's Sky is the game I want it to be. It's that game without boundaries, where I can explore a universe full of trillions upon trillions of worlds, without limitations or restrictions.

​There's no gathering resources to fuel my ship, or diminishing evo suit shields. There's no trading, no tedium, no mining, or building, or juggling inventories. It's just me and the enormity of space; just like I always wanted the game to be. It's a game of infinite possibilities, a break from the straight-jacket of society.

Right now, for a few more hours, No Man's Sky is the best game I've ever played.

Polygon have published their first impressions based upon the first few hours of gameplay, and unfortunately it seems like there is a significant amount of time devoted to gathering resources, which is further exacerbated by limited inventory space.

Funnily enough, the gist of the piece is that the game isn't what the author thought it would be, albeit hopeful that the game might suddenly 'click' after the initial few hours.

Time will tell.

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Harry Steele

9/8/2016 11:20:24 am

One wonders why stuff like 'resource management' is included in a game like this at all?

I understand that answer is 'to give you something to do' but I get the sense that people are excited about this game because it seemed to promise 'no limits'

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DrDagless

9/8/2016 11:39:54 am

I think the developers were bound to get criticised no matter what.

Give the player too much freedom with no clear structure or boundaries and you run the risk of the game being too shallow (or worse; boring), but by implementing that same structure you open yourself to criticism for being too restrictive.

It's a no-win for them really.

Meatballs-me-branch-me-do

9/8/2016 10:24:08 pm

Having to collect stuff (for the engineers) gave a much-needed purpose to the otherwise completely lifeless Elite Dangerous Horizons expansion.

It's still tedious as all hell scraping around on planets scooping up pebbles, or scanning every ship that flies past hoping it gives you rare data, but before there was NOTHING except driving or flying around empty star systems.

Bumcakes

9/8/2016 10:32:15 am

I think I might just sit this launch out and let it settle in for a few days. The resource management/crafting looks really tedious and grindy, watch a stream and half of it will be spent in menus, moving stuff around and pandering to nagging inventory prompts.

It looks like the game part was hastily shoved into the world with no real plan or design. There doesn't appear to be anything meaningful or engaging about the mechanics so far.

I'm still very on the fence... if only because I really have no idea how the game will play in the hands which is what matters most to me.

I can't be excited for something that I don't know what it even really is. Aside from a bunch of math the game hasn't really been communicated to be... well anything other than a bunch of algorithms making the planets. Which is all well and good but PlanetGenerator2000 would not be a very interactive experience.

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Da5e

9/8/2016 11:01:33 am

If flying about feels 'right' - that sense of weight and power that games like Colony Wars nailed really well - then this is going to be my Best Game Ever, I think. This, Cuphead and Thumper are making me excited about games in a way I haven't been for years.

Alas, I've bought into the hype - though not to the point of threatening death on those who raise my ire. I must confess that it is because of this game, and this game alone, that I bought a PS4 earlier in the year. Not played it much as I am a committed XBox One Fan-Boy (is that what they call us now), but it has been waiting patiently for this game.

I played Elite Dangerous on the Xbox and while it is fun, it is INCREDIBLY DRY as a gaming experience. They even managed to suck the fun out of landing on planets.

Whereas this game seems to get away from that simulation aspect and pitches the experience at a lower level. Yes, I expect there will be some resource gathering to begin with and some "grinding" - I fucking hate that term, it should be reserved for strippers alone - in order for your to upgrade your stuff to explore the universe.

I also like the fact that you don't have to be connected to the WWW to play it and there's no multiplayer aspect to it. All that shit can go fuck itself right in the arsehole.

But the clincher is that you actually get to roam around a universe that looks like it was designed by Roger Dean and should have appeared on a Yes album cover sleeve.

PROG ON!

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James of the North

9/8/2016 11:04:19 am

Don't open that box, Mr Schrödinger!

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Loopdreams

9/8/2016 11:06:16 am

I was lucky enough to order it from Simply Games and got it on Saturday so I played a couple of hours and then waited for the patch which changes the game massively for the better. So yesterday I played about six hours of it. But even post-patch I can't see it remaining very interesting if you decide to ignore the main (only?) quest for any length of time. The zillions of stars thing is a pure gimmick when they are a bit like superhero movies, they all look superficially different and you think you're going be in for something exciting but by the time you've seen three systems they just start to feel a bit the same.

It's the same reservation I've had all along. I just don't think that fifteen clever people and some clever algorithms can generate a believable and entertaining open world game. That takes hundreds of people toiling away for years like they do on other open worlds.

Still I got in some dog fights and that was fun and it's given me the motivation to want to earn money to get a better ship. Right now I'm thinking that it's a pretty fun game that does some really clever stuff and it's astonishing that it's been done by such a small team but I'm not going to be just exploring this universe for weeks on end once the quest is done. I dunno maybe others will get something from it that I'm not but so far it's good but it's not the new messiah.

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p

10/8/2016 02:22:42 pm

you are markg and I claim my £5

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Voodoo76

9/8/2016 12:51:18 pm

I'm more looking forward to The Last Guardian.

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Kara Van Park

9/8/2016 01:46:01 pm

Straitjacket (coughs)

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Walter Peck

9/8/2016 03:15:28 pm

I've been wary of getting hyped about this game since I first heard of it - more than anything else it felt like Spore all over again.

But now everyone seems a bit too eager to tear strips off the game and the frankly joyless and relentless cynicism is wearing on me to the point that I'm now ready to embrace my inner-Mulder and believe.

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Carl0sH

9/8/2016 11:36:06 pm

Meh, looks like it might be entertaining for a while. I'm looking forward to Star Citizen more...

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MrPSB

10/8/2016 08:52:52 am

Do you mean the game Star Citizen, or do you mean the inevitable hilarious collapse of the project into bankruptcy and the ensuing shitstorm? I can't wait for the latter!